What does a truck charging site need?
The truck stands in a drive-through bay: it entered forwards and will leave forwards, trailer and all.
Next to it, three more trucks charge. The site draws several megawatts.
The questionWhat makes a site suitable for trucks?
pools along 15% of the TEN-T network
pools along 50% of TEN-T, on the core network
every 60 km on the core network
in each urban node
In each direction of travel, each pool with at least one or two recharging points of at least 350 kW.
Pools along the corridors
asks Member States for publicly accessible recharging dedicated to heavy vehicles, in each direction of travel. By the end of 2030, they must stand at most 60 km apart on the core network, with at least 3,600 kW each, and at most 100 km apart on the comprehensive network, with at least 1,500 kW each. Unlike car chargers, these pools are counted only if they are dedicated to heavy vehicles.
Space before power
Only a small share of car chargers can be used by trucks: a project in Helsinki found only 25 suitable locations among 5,000 public charging points. A truck with a trailer needs length, width, turning room and ideally a bay it can drive through without reversing.
| Answers | |
|---|---|
| Vehicle typesvehicle_types | which vehicles fit, e.g. truck with trailer |
| Maximum sizemax_vehicle_length and others | weight, height, length, width |
| Drive-throughdrive_through | in and out without reversing |
| Dangerous goodsdangerous_goods_allowed | whether such loads may park |
| Refrigerationrefrigeration_outlet | power to keep the trailer cool |
OCPI 2.3.0 added a Parking object that says whether a charging place suits heavy vehicles. It also lists MCS as a connector type.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
In a Helsinki project, how many of 5,000 public charging points were suitable for trucks?
Only 25 locations out of 5,000 public charging points were found suitable for trucks.
What does the OCPI drive_through field say?
It says whether a vehicle can stop, charge and proceed without reversing into or out of a space.
What total power must truck pools on the TEN-T core network offer every 60 km by the end of 2030?
AFIR Article 4: pools of at least 3,600 kW, with at least two points of 350 kW.
- AFIR Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (EU) 2023/1804: EU rules for public charging, from payment to coverage. EV charging fundamentals, stop 08 Glossary
- Charging pool AFIR's term for one or more charging stations at a specific location, counted together for the targets along the main roads. Charging infrastructure, stop 01 Glossary
- TEN-T The trans-European transport network, the EU's main roads and corridors, divided into a core and a comprehensive network; AFIR sets charging targets along it. Glossary
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 4 and 5(1). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Articles 4 and 5(1). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- IEA: Global EV Outlook 2026: Electric vehicle charging. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2026/electric-vehicle-charging-chap-6-and-10. Checked 09 Oct 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- EVRoaming Foundation: OCPI 2.3.0, introduction: changes in 2.3.0. https://github.com/ocpi/ocpi/blob/2.3.0/release/core/introduction.asciidoc. Checked 09 Oct 2026.
- EVRoaming Foundation: OCPI 2.3.0, Locations module: Parking object, VehicleType and connector types. https://github.com/ocpi/ocpi/blob/2.3.0/release/core/mod_locations.asciidoc. Checked 09 Oct 2026.